Diyarbakır Fortress and Hevsel Gardens

Diyarbakır Castle (Diyarbakır Kalesi), almost all of which has survived to the present day, has been standing for about 5,000 years. It has a spectacular solemnity with a width of between three and five meters, standing between 11 and 21 meters high. Hevsel Gardens (Hevsel Bahçeleri), set between the Diyarbakır City Walls and the Tigris River, extend from Mardinkapı to the On Gözlü (Ten Arches) Bridge in the west and Yenikapı in the east. This is a region of first-class agricultural land, thanks to the fertile alluvial soils carried by the Tigris River. The total size of the Hevsel Gardens, which is on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list, is approximately 4,000 decares, and in this area vegetables such as spinach, lettuce, green onion, parsley, cress, cabbage, radish, chard, arugula, tomato, pepper, eggplant, beans and zucchini are grown, along with trees bearing walnuts, figs, apricots, plums, cherries, mulberries and peaches. Another aspect of Hevsel Gardens is that it is a bird paradise hosting nearly 100 species of large and small birds; 79 species, including the European robin, Eastern olivaceous warbler, dove, tree pipit, red-backed shrike, common whitethroat and bee-eaters are observed in Hevsel Gardens. The willow warbler population grows during the spring, while the goldfinch lives in Hevsel Gardens throughout the year.